Three Ways to Get Started on Your Ideas

January 7, 2019

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Anyone who’s been following along with me for any amount of time knows I rebranded my blog this past August from what was formerly Sunday Mornings Blog. Part of this revamp and rebrand entailed me sitting down and asking myself, “okay, so why you?”

And by that I mean, why should YOU decide to come to MY blog every day or two or five when there are SO many blogs occupying the tiny crevices of the web?

It’s because your passion is my passion.

One of the things I’m most fired up about is helping people identify their strengths, realize their potential, and start working towards it. Part of my rebrand is focusing less on day to day fashion, and more on day to day lifestyle – and that includes a heavy focus on careers.

I’m really proud to introduce to you our first Motivation Monday.

I want to kickstart every Monday with a motivational think piece to propel you through the week. Mondays are rough, yes, but when you harness the potential of a Monday – the potential of a fresh week ahead – it can set the tone for the entire week. So, let’s dive in.

From the time I was little, my parents always told me “find something you love to do, find a way to make money at it, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” That has guided pretty much every professional decision I’ve made. I never wanted a job – I wanted a career. And I was going to be the next Brittney Spears.

Needless to say, my parents might have come to regret that advice. 🙂 But everything I’ve pursued, I’ve pursued out of passion, and I want to help you do the same.

WHAT THIS MEANS: You can realize your ideas

WHAT THIS DOESN’T MEAN: You should quit your day job

Listen – I’ve worked my fair share of grunt work jobs to supplement my dreams and ideas, but it’s always been worth it to me because the grunt work allowed me to pursue my passions in my free time – but, I’m very productive and calculated in how I use my free time in order to maximize my results.

For anyone else brimming with creativity and passion, I know how daunting it can be to commit to an idea and dive in when the options seem limitless. But:

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain

The truth is, we need to pick an idea and get started. Don’t worry about having it all figured out up front: you’ll learn as you go. How do we do it? Three steps:

1. write down all of your ideas

I’m a huge proponent of getting everything out of your head and on paper – it’s asking a lot of yourself to keep track of everything. if you’re having a hard time deciding which idea to pursue, write them all down. get them all out on paper. make a list – believe it or not, forcing yourself to articulate your ideas may give you clarity as to whether or not they’re something you actually want to pursue. now, we whittle them down: pick your top three choices. then out of those three, pick one.

2. seek feedback

I think this is an important step. I believe that feedback is essential – but there’s a catch: it HAS to be feedback from trusted sources. your girlfriend who just wants to boost your ego and get on to talking about herself is NOT a trusted source. Your parents might not be trusted sources either – it’s nothing against your parents! I’m sure they’re lovely people – but they might not be unbiased. Your parents might be better cheerleaders than sounding boards. On the flip side, if you know your parents to be unbiased and analytical, they might be the perfect people with whom to share your ideas. I have a coworker who will always tell it to me straight, a husband with a healthy amount of skepticism, and a mentor who knows how to ask the right questions of me. If you don’t have any of these, I’m happy to chat with you. It doesn’t mean I’m right, but I’ll be honest. The key isn’t to have someone predict 100% whether or not your idea will be successful – it’s to ask the right questions about your idea to help you shape and solidify it, or, if truly need be, go back to the drawing board.

3. make a to-do list

This is crucial. So many people get stuck in their heads: “I wouldn’t even know where to start.” You know more than you think. You’re going to edit this list MULTIPLE times, so let’s start with the first draft:

Write WHAT YOU KNOW

If your idea is to start an e-commerce store, write down what YOU think YOU already know goes into starting a business. It might look something like this:

Pick a name

Incorporate my business

Set up a website

Pick out products

Set up shipping

Launch

Market my shop

In reality, there are a lot more steps to starting an e-commerce store, but the key is to start with what you know. NEXT:

Add WHAT THE INTERNET SAYS

It’s time to get on google. Start searching exactly what your idea is: “how to start a record label” or “how to write a self-help book.” Google your question and read through every blog post and article you find. Incorporate any steps you might have missed into your list – at this point, I suggest adding all of them. You might combine, condense, or scrap steps later on, but the point of this is to help you get the full scope of steps you’ll take to realize your idea. NEXT:

Prioritize and dig deeper

Once you have your list, it’s time to sequence your tasks. Listen: the sequence just has to make sense to you – it might not be right – you are not always going to get this right. Trial and error is KEY. But prioritize your to-do list in a logical order. Each item on your list is going to require further research, but the key is to take it one day at a time, one item at a time. Start with the first item – “pick a name” – and do more research on it. Google “What makes a good business name?” “How to pick a business name?” Whatever the first item on your list might be – GOOGLE how to do it! Not everyone is right, but everyone has ideas. Let the ideas of others get your juices flowing. You might find something that provokes new or unexpected thought. Every day or two, move on to a new item on your list, and research that. Small steps lead to big action – there is no such thing as unimportant progress.

Don’t get bogged down in what you don’t know – let your questions prompt research, not discouragement. Keep moving, keep researching, and trust me – you’ll figure it out along the way. You just have to get started.

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Hi everyone! Thanks for visiting my passion project. I'm a 28-year-old Lebanese-American with a love for carbs, musicals, and sappy rom-coms. I work in television, though the views and ideas expressed here are my own. As someone for whom a sixty hour work week is not out of the ordinary, I've struggled to find easy ways to stay on top of the rest of my life. This blog is geared toward anyone trying to find balance - eating well, dressing well, maintaining good health, etc. I'm going to spend time sharing what works for me and what's helped me simplify. I hope it helps you, too!